On L List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Rate:
10
Viewed:
7/05, 12/07, 7/11, 7/15, 9/20
7/05:
A magnificently made masterpiece, Lawrence of Arabia is David Lean's magnum opus.
It tells a complex story of an ordinary man who transforms himself into the leader of an Arab revolution, despite not sharing
any ethnicity, and tries to make it all work but is ultimately betrayed by the realities of politics.
All in all, thanks to Freddie Young's spellbinding cinematography, it's impossible to deny the power of the desert that
Lawrence of Arabia brings to the screen.
12/07:
Like Gone with the Wind and
Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia is the very definition of an epic picture.
In fact, it's probably the epic of all epics. One of the most remarkable jobs David Lean did with his characters is not
only make them larger than life but also mysterious in terms of their ambitions and desires. That's why it remains a
difficult picture to comprehend, and it's also the reason that I keep revisiting it many times. How can I not forget the
transition from one scene of T.E. Lawrence's request to be left alone as a simple, ordinary recluse to the next with
Arabs chanting "El Aurens" as he comes back to the desert?
All in all, Lawrence of Arabia is a once-in-a-lifetime picture.
7/11:
Lawrence of Arabia is among the greatest movies ever made.
Having seen the picture many times, I never get tired of it. Four hours is nothing. There are so many hidden meanings that
I learn something new every time I watch it.
According to Robert Sellers' The Life and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, and Oliver
Reed: "By the end of filming O'Toole had lost two stones in weight, received third-degree burns, sprained both ankles,
torn ligaments in both his hips and thigh, dislocated his spine, broken his thumb, sprained his neck and been concussed twice.
The conditions were such that some of the crew couldn't take it and left."
All in all, Lawrence of Arabia is a top five masterpiece.
7/15:
Omar Sharif passed away last weekend.
Thinking of his cinematic achievements, I wanted to see Lawrence of Arabia for the millionth time. It's still
a timeless classic that ranks in the top five of all time. The power of the desert is undeniable; those weren't impacted by
it have sadly missed the point.
It's true that one man can change the fate of a country, and it's also true that he cannot do it all by himself. He needs to
be surrounded by people who believe in him in order to achieve the impossible. It's a powerful concept that has been proven
over and over throughout the course of history.
Courtesy of Freddie Young's cinematography, Lawrence of Arabia is a rare accomplishment for allowing the ambience to
overshadow the characters. That's why when T.E. Lawrence came back with Farraj to the army headquarters in Cairo, everything
felt strange and out of place.
I can't say enough about the cast. It's one of the greatest ensembles ever. Peter O'Toole's screen debut is nothing less
than stunning and impactful. So is Omar Sharif's, the best actor to come out of Egypt, whose character is the personification
of Lawrence's superego. Anthony Quinn is stirring as Auda abu Tayi. Alec Guinness is the master of his craft and obviously the
perfect choice for Prince Feisal.
Never mind the running length because time passes so quickly that I'm amazed the movie is over
already. Thus, it's important for the new viewers to forget the length but to feel the quality. With numerous layers
to unpeel to tell the story of T.E. Lawrence's military campaigns in Saudi Arabia, the replayability value of
Lawrence of Arabia is quite high.
David Lean knew that the amount of material on T.E. Lawrence was staggering. As a result, he became a genius for transforming the
story of his Arabian adventures into perfectly worded conversations to advance the plot while capturing the power of the desert.
It's precisely the reason why the characters are shown larger than life, making Lawrence of Arabia a mystical film.
Many directors have tried to copy his style of filmmaking, but it still remains inimitable.
All in all, there's nothing like Lawrence of Arabia.
9/20:
Ah, well...what movie is going to beat the cinematography of Lawrence of Arabia?
A tall task indeed, so forget about it. This is the film that everybody is remembered for all eternity: David Lean, Peter
O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quayle, Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson, and Freddie Young, among
others.
They said that if Peter O'Toole was any prettier, he would've been called the Florence of Arabia. It's true. The
mystifying power of the desert cinematography is unbelievable; that's why I can watch the film many times.
It may be an easy thing to do by knocking off the white Englishman Alec Guinness for playing an Arab, Prince Feisal, but
by all accounts, it's been remarked that he looked exactly like him. The same is true for Anthony Quinn as Auda abu Tayi.
Omar Sharif is special. Peter O'Toole should've won the Oscar for Best Actor in a landslide.
All in all, Lawrence of Arabia is a top three masterpiece in world cinema.